


Armageddon

by UnknownUnseenUnheard



Series: The Infinite World [2]
Category: Final Fantasy IX, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Armageddon, End of the World
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 15:03:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13273965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownUnseenUnheard/pseuds/UnknownUnseenUnheard
Summary: Armageddon. The end of days. Kuja and Zidane where suppose to do this together, but it seems fate had other plans. Garland takes his final revenge as Heartless ravage the world, bringing twin worlds to their knees as former enemies team up to combat a greater threat





	Armageddon

A/N: Welcome, all, to the second in the Ragnarok Saga. This one will focus on FFIX instead. I think I'll also make one focusing on FFVIII but I'm not too sure about FFX yet. Anyways, enjoy

Published: 12/10/2017

Warnings: Numerous FFIX Spoilers

* * *

** Armageddon **

They were suppose to do this. The two of them, together. They were suppose to destroy the world. Destroy it all, and, from the ashes, Terra would be reborn. Gaia would die. It would crash and burn into nothingness, because they were the Angels of Death, and they were meant to bring waste to the world. They were meant to destroy it all.

They were meant to kill each other too. Kuja realized that now.

Garland had lied to him when he stated Zidane had been born to surpass him, to take his place. Garland had lied for one very simple reason. Kuja was perfectly capable of massacring the people of Gaia all on his own. He knew it. Garland knew it. Every Genome in existence capable of even the smallest manner of sentience knew it.

Kuja had already proven himself.

Entire continents, razed to the ground.

Blood, so much blood.

Cities in ruins. Civilizations shattered. The broken bodies of the Summoners, dead at his feet because he had killed them all.

Yes, Kuja was perfectly capable of wreaking all sorts of carnage all on his own. He was a destroyer. He was an Angel of Death, descending from the skies and leaving corpses in his wake. Rivers of blood and cultures lost, because Kuja was just that good at it. That good at killing. At wiping out. Only the Mist Continent had been left mostly untouched, and that was meant to be the were the final battle would take place, the final battle for Gaia.

Kuja was enough to do what Garland wanted. More than enough. Too much, in fact.

That was Zidane's purpose. Zidane had been born- no, created- not to massacre Gaia, but to massacre Kuja. His own little destroyer. Kuja laughed. He laughed, because his Master believed Kuja was a fool. His Master, so ignorant, believed Kuja was the fool, but it was the other way around. It was the other way around because Kuja knew. Kuja knew, and there was no way he would fall for such ploys.

Of course, things would have been so much easier if it hadn't been for the Shadows, bursting about from every corner, ruining Kuja's perfectly laid plans and smashing them to smithereens.

* * *

"Freya, Steiner, Vivi, Eiko! Take out the dragon! Everyone else, on Garland!"

Garland had a dragon. Of course Garland had a fucking dragon. Kuja had a dragon too, now that Zidane thought about it.

"New plan!" Dagger called out. Zidane's eyes snapped towards her as she summoned Bahamut, her hair blowing back in the wind caused by the summoning as the dragon landed down. "Leave the dragon to me!"

Bahamut crashed into the silver dragon and the two beasts snarled at each other, tumbling about and snapping at one another.

Garland lips curved into an ugly frown. That little bastard had failed to kill all the Summoners. Knowing Kuja, he'd done it on purpose. Not one, but  _two_  of those thrice damned Summoners had survived! For all Garland knew, a hidden community of Summoners could be alive and well on Gaia, biding their time in wait.

Elsewhere, Lucy Heartfillia, Pein, Rydia, Yuna, Andrew Wells, Xemnas, and Shiemi sneezed simultaneously.

Garland jumped back as and raised his arms, casting a shield before him. Steiner's sword, crackling with electricity, clashed against it. Garland frowned before his eyes shot towards the source of the magic coating the blade.

One of Kuja's creations.

Garland blasted the knight back before teleporting away. With a snarl he aimed a magical blast at the girl who had summoned the dragon king. Dagger, who was concentrating on keeping Bahamut under her command, was defenseless.

"No!"

Eiko, seemingly out of nowhere, jumped in front of the blast and cast a shield charm. The two spells clashed and the child was thrown back.

Garland growled then smirked when he realized his distraction had been enough. Dagger, in surprise, had lost control of Bahamut, causing the dragon to disappear. The silver dragon roared in victory before attacking once more at the girl Bahamut had been guarding.

Garland lifted his arms up towards his sides, blocking Zidane from one side slicing at him with daggers and Amarant attacking with chakra coated fists.

It was for that reason that the giant ass frog that suddenly fell from the sky managed to wrap its tongue around Garland, picking him up and flinging him with force.

"Amarant! Get the dragon!" Zidane cried out. As he rushed towards Garland's rising figure.

Garland groaned. His back was killing him. He was too old for this shit. He only barely managed to block the first knife strike. And the second. And the third.

Suddenly, Zidane leaped back without warning, and Garland had a bad feeling. Instinct proved correct when the little homunculus Kuja had created appeared before him and summoned a goddamn meteor.

Dagger dodged back and let loose magical attacks at the dragon. Instead of forming a complete summon, she just let their attacks lose on her opponent. Water from Leviathan, lightning from Ramuh, fire from Ifrit. The dragon roared and batted them all away.

Suddenly, Amarant's leg crashed into the dragon's jaw, flinging it upwards. The dragon spun, landed on its feet, and growled at the red haired man that had dared harm it.

Those were its last thoughts as Freya's spear tore down into the beast's skull. Flipping off the dragon, Freya flicked the blood off before she turned towards the more prevalent threat.

Garland's could feel his old bones cracking. This wasn't working. He alone wasn't enough. He was being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. He managed to ward of the meteor only to have the summoner child set a bloody werewolf on him which he'd just managed to dispel only for Zidane to appear before him, splay his hands, and let loose burst of golden energy that collided painfully into his chest.

Garland gasped as he was blasted back. Panting, the ancient being stood, glancing up at the eight that had him surrounded.

"It's over, old man." Zidane spoke. Garland closed his eyes and waited for the final moment. Zidane did not disappoint. He could hear the dagger whipping forward to take off his head when Zidane himself was blasted backwards. Garland blinked.

"Enough. Honestly, how pathetic, Garland."

Zidane glared up at the sky as Kuja himself in all his half naked glory came floating down before them. Kuja landed before them, flipped hair out his eyes, and smirked.

"I must say… I truly love you all." the Genome began. "You not only broke the seal to Terra, but did me the favor of defeating Garland!" Kuja smiled and splayed his arms before him, looking at Zidane with newfound respect. "Zidane… You truly are an extraordinarily Genome, deserving of my love!"

Zidane snarled. "What are you doing here, Kuja!" He demanded, a dark feeling pooling into his stomach.

Kuja frowned. "That's not a very nice way to greet your brother." He chastised. Zidane pretended he didn't notice how the others all flinched back in shock before giving him incredulous looks as Kuja's words registered.

"Shut up! You're no brother of mine!" Zidane snapped.

Kuja, in response, rolled his eyes before turning and making his way towards his fallen creator.

"Oh, such ferocity… Master Garland, he intends to fight against Terra." Kuja informed the downed android as if it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world.

Garland narrowed his eyes.

"Kuja… What are you scheming?" He demanded.

Kuja had the audacity to look surprised. "Scheming? Me? Watch as I defeat the these enemies of Terra!"

With a dramatic twirl, Kuja made his way back to the others.

"Come on, now!" Kuja motioned them forward. "You may sleep alongside the souls of Terra for all eternity!" Kuja declared with a smile.

Eiko shivered in fear and backed away slightly. Freya barred her teeth. Steiner glared. Dagger griped her weapon close. Vivi felt anger pool in his chest. Amarant took a stance. Quina wondered what was for dinner. And Zidane prepared himself for a fight to the death.

That was when Kuja's glorious moment, the moment of his triumph, was so annoyingly ruined. In his defense, there was no way he could have possibly seen it coming. There was no way any of them could possibly have seen it coming.

"Amarant, take the kids and-"

Zidane didn't finish. There was no time to finish. No time at all, because above them all the sky fell. The sky began to fall, much to the shock of all, as shadows began to burst from all directions. From the clouds, from wormholes, from pockets on the ground far below them, consuming everything and anything around them in a matter of seconds. In literally the span of a heartbeat, as far as the eye could see was covered in darkness. Multicolored beings that seemed to pulsate with the dark.

"What- What is this! Garland! What is this!" Kuja had lost his calm. Zidane didn't blame him. He was on the edge of losing his shit as well. Within seconds, all of Terra was covered in bubbly black, rippling about the surface in a show of carnage and destruction.

And Garland?

Garland could only laugh.

"Foolish… Foolish Kuja. You… Someone like you could never build an eternal empire!" Garland, despite coughing like mad and looking as if a strong gust of wind would break him into pieces, stood. A cackle escaped the ancient android's chassis. "That was your goal, was it not? Once you had deposed of me, you would rule Terra and Gaia. You would rule both worlds, because that would be your ultimate revenge against me for what I've done to you, would it not?" Garland revealed, a smirk dancing on the old man's lips.

Kuja snarled.

"What have you done, old man! Tell me!"

Garland merely grinned.

"The Heartless… I've held them back for generations. The true threat to Terra, the real reason I sealed it away…" Garland confessed, eyes darting towards the shadows with an air of fear in them.

"And now, the pair of you…" Garland shot Zidane a look of utter loathing, "The pair of you, in your betrayals against me, have weakened me, my children. My two sons, weakening me to the point where I can no longer hold back Armageddon!"

Neither Kuja nor Zidane looked pleased at being called Garland's children. In fact, the pair looked murderous at the very notion. That, in the least, united them.

"Ha! The irony! I… I created the pair of you… To prevent… To stop… I-" Garland broke into a violent coughing fit, shaking as blood spurt from his mouth.

Garland spoke no more. He didn't have a chance to. In that moment, a Neoshadow popped into existence behind him and a clawed hand tore its way into Garland's chest, tearing out his soul, his heart, and leaving the old Android dead then and there as Terra began to collapse all around them.

Then, one Heartless became two, which rapidly became four, then eight, then sixteen. Kuja, for the life of him, couldn't believe he was fighting back to back with his little brother, of all people, yet again. How long had it been? Zidane himself wouldn't remember. Kuja had made sure of that when he sealed the other's memories all those years ago.

It didn't matter how many they killed, though. It didn't matter because there were too many. Far too many. Ten became twenty, twenty became fourty, fourty became a couple of hundred. These things were multiplying faster than the Dark Mages.

"Kuja! You wouldn't happen to have some badass secret escape plan, right?"

Kuja sneered.

"And, if I did, why in the living hell would I supply you with it?" Kuja twisted to face the other as Zidane literally spun past him in a whirlwind of spinning blades, tearing into Heatless of all shapes and sizes left and right.

Then, landing before him, Zidane shot him a look.

"Simple. Even you should know we have a better chance surviving working together."

Kuja hated it when others had a point. Normally, he'd dispute it. He did, after all, have his trump card. However, he wasn't even sure that would be useful in the face of an enemy that could literally tear out souls. Yes, he'd massacre a good number of them, but how long until Kuja himself fell with no one to watch his unguarded back?

Normally, Kuja would also doubt aid from another, convinced they would stab him in the back. Zidane, however, was that kind of idiotic dumbass that would never turn his back on you, because he was just that kind of Genome.

Kuka snarled.

"Fine. I can-"

"HOLY!"

All around them, Heartless were blasted back as the little girl, the summoner Kuja had allowed to survive, unleashed ancient magic upon them. The power of Holy, pure and light, consumed all of the shadows, burning away at them until they were nothing, leaving their little area clear of them.

Kuja could only stare in shock.

A child… A child, out of Trance, had…

Then, Eiko collapsed in a heap.

"Eiko!"

Garnet gathered the little girl in her arms, holding her protectively.

Kuja then made a snap decision. He was sure he was going to regret this immensely, but regardless, it was the best choice at the moment, and he was going to go for it.

* * *

"Master Garland informed me of these creatures."

Zidane, little shit that he was, shot Kuja a smug look as the words left Mikoto's mouth. Kuja rolled his eyes. Okay, so rescuing those lifeless puppets from Bran Bal had actually been useful. Honestly, how was Kuja suppose to know that those soulless creatures would actually know anything at all?

Zidane, on the other hand, had a hunch that they might which was why he wouldn't lose that air of I-told-you-so. Stupid little brothers, cheering about the stupidest things as the world was ending around them, literally.

"And what did you learn of them." Kuja ignored the glares he was given for daring to grace these fools with his oh so glorious presence. Hn. Didn't any of them realize that, without Kuja and the Invincible, they would have all died on Terra as it was consumed?

"They are known as the Heartless. They are creatures born from the darkness in people's hearts. Monsters born from twisted emotions inside of man." Mikoto revealed, her hand trailing along the globe of Terra in the center of the room. The Invincible had a rather peculiar map room that showed you entire worlds and everything on them in picture perfect detail of the present.

Terra's globe was a bubbling surface of black, like a witch's cauldron on the verge of boiling over.

"Born from the darkness? I wonder, who here reminds me of such misdeeds!" Steiner oh so eloquently stated and, with all the subtlety of a train wreck, glared at Kuja.

Kuja responded with an eyeroll.

"Please. These creatures are so not my type. I like having a soul, thank you very much."

"Someone like him, have a soul." Amarant bit out a laugh. Kuja chose to ignore the slander on his character. After they stopped this deranged madness, he'd kill these fools. For now, he needed them. Annoyingly enough.

"Kuja could not summon Heartless." Mikoto shook her head. "While it is true that Heartless, at times, have been known to follow and obey those with twisted and powerful hearts, Kuja does not have the emotional capacity."

A tick mark appeared above Kuja's head.

"I am more than capable of plenty of things, little sister." Kuja summoned a fireball, cupping it in his hands as he glared at the girl. Mikoto, in response, summoned ice, the air around them cooling rapidly as she eyes Kuja with challenge.

"Stop! This is no time to be fighting among ourselves!" Zidane, ever the hero, interceded, eyes dashing back and forth between Kuja, Mikoto, and his own merry band of miscreants.

"Us, work with him?" Steiner spoke, shooting Kuja a disgruntled look.

"You murdered my mother!" Dagger hissed out.

"You murdered my people!" Eiko continued on.

"You enslaved my people!" Vivi thundered.

"You left Burmecia a city of corpses and reduced Cleyra into a cratore!" Freya looked like she was resisting the urge to skewer Kuja like one of the many dragons she had slayed.

"I don't like you." Amarant just shrugged.

Without missing a beat, Kuja turned to them. "Don't care about you," Kuja didn't even bother looking at Steiner, causing the knight to twitch, "That was self defense, my dear," he told a fuming Dagger before turning towards Eiko, "Zidane, though he no longer remembers, helped in that little affair. I seem to recall mounting a rescue mission for the brat when he got himself captured, actually, which is when things got oh so messy." Kuja tilted his head in contemplation.

All of them, as one, blanched at the words as Zidane backed away, horror and denial ensnaring from every part of his being.

Ignoring their growing dilemma, Kuja turned towards Vivi, "Child, I made your people. I gave them the freedom to do what they wished. Some followed me, others became mindless killers. Who was I to deny them?" Vivi shook, magic sparkling around him. Then, Kuja twisted towards Freya, "my dear Dragoon, your confusing me with that elephant woman. I do admit, however, to doing nothing to curve her rather destructive urges." Kuja then turned to Amarant. "And you? A failed assassin who can't even do the job correctly, who instead aids the person he was suppose to slay? You are beneath my content."

With those final words, Kuja clapped.

"There! The air has been cleared! Can we kindly get back to saving the world and, more importantly, me?"

Zidane didn't bother stopping Freya as she lunged.

* * *

It was the Fall of Treno that made them realize that yes, fighting among themselves while the world literally burned was not was a smart idea. Fighting among themselves as the universe burned was literally the most stupid idea imaginable.

Suddenly, no one seemed to mind Kuja at all, not when he was one of the best damn Mages on the planet, not when he could slaughter an army of Heartless all on his own without breaking a sweat.

It didn't matter, however, as Terno fell. It didn't matter as the city was consumed, Heartless running about in droves, swallowing, devouring until nothing was left. Consuming hearts, consuming people and converting them to their own.

An endless unstoppable army.

Kuja almost wished he had come up with the idea for these creatures himself.

"Report?"

Garnet Til Alexandros the XVII proved herself to be a far more competent ruler than her mother. Ironically, she now had what her mother had craved in the palm of her hands. The entire world looked up to her for leadership, a role Garnet was not sure she desired or wanted.

The world was dying, after all. Even all the power of the two remaining Summoners only seemed to delay the Heartless. Stopping them seemed such an impossible dream that Garnet wasn't even sure if it was possible at all.

"We lost Treno, along with Amarant and Quina." Steiner reported, a pained look crossing the knight's face before his expression hardened. "The Heartless are relentless in their assault. Although, as of late, they've been backing away."

"Backing away? Why the hell would they do that?" Zidane never for a moment even considered there could be something in the universe that he hated more than Garland. But, When the remaining members of Tantalus were slain by a horde of soul hungry monsters, Zidane suddenly found himself finding something he hated even more.

This was Garland's final revenge. His death, breaking apart a seal that kept these monsters back. Monsters that had consumed one world and were now bent on destroying the next.

"They seem to be retreating, away from the Mist Continent." Steiner revealed.

Freya blinked.

"Why would they do that?" then, she spun on Mikoto. "You stated that these creatures feed upon hearts, correct? Wouldn't that mean that they'd focus their efforts on the area with the most souls?" the dragoon questioned.

Mikoto looked just as bewildered as Freya.

"Yes. Which would be the Mist Continent." she spoke, a feeling of dread pooling in her stomach.

"Then why would they retreat? Are they gathering their forces? Planning an assault?" Cid stroked his rather impressive mustache.

Zidane scoffed.

"Heartless don't have the concept of tactics. They're born from dark emotions. All they know is to run around collecting more souls in a desperate effort to feel anything again." Zidane looked pained at the words. The others watched him with shock. Sympathy, for the Heartless? Noticing their looks, Zidane shrugged. "Vivi said… Said they reminded him of himself." Zidane explained.

Ah.

That made more-

Holy shit, Kuja was a complete and utter moron. He let out a horrified squeak as his eyes widened in realization. Eyes shot to him.

"Do you have something to say, Mage?" Steiner refused to refer to Kuja as anything else. If anything, the man barely put up with Kuja, seemingly resisting the urge to slay him then and there.

Kuja glanced around at them all, horror pooling in him.

"I… I know where they're going. They're not going to bother with us at all." Kuja revealed. "They're aiming for the heart. The big one. Their aiming for the Iifa Tree. The are not going to bother with the rest of us, when they can kill us all in one fell swoop as they devour the very heart of this world."

* * *

Unfortunately, Kuja, as usual, was right.

Vivi could only stare about in horror.

Kuja himself had unleashed an army of dragons on the Heartless.

The Dark Mages and the goblins of Condo Petit had joined together as a ground force against the hordes of shadows. The skies above were filled with hundreds of airships as they battled against massive flying Heartless.

Massive bees floating around with stingers the size of buildings, an abomination constructed of pink crystal waving a massive wand and leaving destruction in it's wake, a corrupted phoenix blasting hellfire in all directions, small little monsters in miniature airplanes dashins about, pirate ships shooting torpedoes in every which direction.

This whole placed was quickly becoming a death trap.

This was it.

This was Armageddon. This was the end of days. That was the only thing it could be, for the Heartless had summoned their secret weapon, a weapon none of them were prepared for at all, a secret weapon none of them could even hope to win against. Queen Brahne had wanted to control the power of gods to rule the world, and now the power of gods had turned on them and would massacre humanity.

For, what else could explain Alexander, glorious Alexander, marching towards them, blasting rays of holy light in their direction, a twisted red glow in it's eyes and a dark aura twisting around it.

The Gods had forsaken them, and the world wasn't going to fall to Angels of Death, as Garland and Kuja had both envisioned, but to twisted memories that would slay them all.

"Shit… We're fucked."

"Shut up, Zidane! Garland killed that thing, so can we!"

"Garland used the Invincible! Which was powered by souls! Which, let me remind you, will just make that thing stronger!"

Kuja, however, just smirked. Vivi had a very bad feeling about this.

"I meant to use this against you, little brother. But this… Yes, this will be a far more glorious act for one such as I. I, star of this little story, will now shine brightly." Kuja declared.

Then, he exploded in red crimson light before their very eyes.

* * *

Hours.

The battle had gone on for hours.

Endless wave after endless wave. It didn't seem like there was an end to them. Massive Heartless kept materializing. For every Jewel Princess that was slain, a Guard Armor would rise. For every fallen Guard Armor, a Savage Spider. For every Savage Spider, a Fortress Crab would rise.

It was an endless army. An endless army of monsters.

It didn't matter that Kuja had managed to kill Alexander with his new found might. It didn't matter that Zidane had become a spinning circle of destruction, cutting through Heartless like a hot knife through butter. It didn't matter, because there were just too many. Far too many.

"FREYA!"

Zidane exploded in red light, just like Kuja, as a Heartless finally managed to skewer the Dragon Knight, extracting her heart as her body broke into pyrelights. With a single swing of his daggers, Zidane let loose a blast of concussive energy, ripping away another wave of Heartless.

Dagger, blond and beautiful and bleeding in so many places, appeared next to him. Vivi, panting, the last of his kind because the others were all dead and gone and not moving, came up beside her.

"This isn't working, Zidane. We… We can't win." Dagger, strong and stubborn Dagger, sounded so helpless. Vivi couldn't blame her. He could empathise with her despair. This was the end. This was Armageddon. Garland would have the last laugh, and they would all die like animals.

Zidane responded with a grunt.

"Where are the others?"

The pained look Dagger shot him spoke for her. Zidane resisted the urge to break down and mourn. This wasn't time for mourning. This was it. This was the final battle. If they lost here, then everyone everywhere would die. If they let the Heartless take Iifa, that was it. That was the end. The heart of Gaia would be devoured, and everyone would die.

Except, the problem with that was that everyone important, everyone that mattered, was already dead.

Kuja landed before them in a flurry of feathers and graceful silk skirts that he seemed so fond of.

"What are you idiots doing? There are still more Heartless left! We have to-" Kuja began.

"What's the point? We already lost. Look around, Kuja." Vivi was the one who cut him off, his small form shaking as he took in the horrors around them.

Ten thousand. They'd send a force ten thousand strong, leaving only a skeleton crew back home, because this is where the Heartless were targeting. And this is what they were down too. Eiko, at the very least, was safe back in Alexandria, but that wouldn't matter soon, would it?

Iifa would fall, and so would the world.

Kuja looked like he wanted to dissuade the notion very much. Then, as he took in the raging ruins around him, a look of stark horror that should have been satisfying on his normally smug face overtook his features.

This really was the end.

This really was Armageddon.

Silence had fallen over the battlefield.

All that was left were the Heartless, after all, closing in on them and closing in on the tree.

Kuja swore.

"I'll be damned if I let them win! I'll be damned!" then, the genome spun and gripped Vivi's shoulders. "You… Yes, you. Yes, you'll do. You'll do."

"Kuja! Let him go! What are you doing!"

Kuja, however, just smirked. A twisted desperate smirk of a creature that was about to die. The most dangerous type of creature, because it was the type of creature that had absolutely nothing to lose, not anymore.

Vivi gulped at the look in those eyes.

* * *

"We are the three most powerful beings that have ever graced this disgusting little dust ball with our presence. I believe that, at the very least, this we can do."

Kuja's plan was crazy. It was insane. It was just like him, wild and mad and it couldn't possibly work, there was no way it could ever work, but they were going to go for it anyways. They were going to, because this as the end and this was their final hope and they had no choice in the matter. This insanity was their last chance, their last desperate shot.

"You sure you wanna do this, Vivi?"

The Dark Mage merely nodded.

"Whatever I can do… Even if it kills me. Whatever I can do to help, I want to. I want-"

"Oh, you won't die child. If anything, you will be the only one to survive. I guarantee it. I guarantee it." Kuja promised.

Vivi couldn't help but gulp.

"How will this work?" Dagger spoke.

"Simple. I created this little creature from the dregs of this planet's soul. We seal a piece of the crystal into him and, as long as part of the world lives within him… When the time comes, he will be able to restore it. Restore it, and undo the horrors we've witnessed here." Kuja stated calmly, as if he was not about to walk off to his own death with only a princess who's magic he'd extracted to level entire cities and boy he's abandoned in the dark slums of Lindblum as his backup.

"But how?" Zidane said.

"Sealing is simple enough. The princess here is tied to the planet, so it will obey her call. The Heartless… They'll consume this place. There's no denying that now." Kuja gave a gulp, which was the only thing that betrayed his calm facade. "When they do, anyone still alive will be scattered. Including Ornitier. Except, Ornitier will be different." with this, Kuja spun and gazed straight at the child. His creation.

His little war weapon, tossed aside when he had deemed it defective to his goals.

"You, child, will carry the heart of this world with you. You will carry it, and when the time comes, you'll know what to do."

"But how? How can I possibly… How?"

Kuja shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." then, he stood and shot a look towards Dagger. "Zidane and I will hold them off until our last breaths. Finish the process. Call on the planet. As Summoner, the world will answer you. Do your sacred duty."

Dagger still looked like she wanted to stab him repeatedly. Instead, she merely noded. Then, without a moment's hesitation, Dagger turned to Zidane, pulled him close, and mashed her mouth against his in one last desperate kiss.

Vivi blushed and looked away. Kuja rolled his eyes. Zidane's eyes widened, before pulling the girl close as their little makeout session grew more and more passionate.

Then, at long last, they disconnected, a small string of saliva connecting their lips.

"I love you." she said.

And Zidane? Zidane just grinned, goofy and happy and not as if Armageddon was raging around them.

"I know. I love you too. With all my heart."

* * *

Zidane never imagined that he'd be fighting back to back with Kuja of all people. These last few brutal weeks had really changed his perspective on everything. Golden glowing eyes, so much like Vivi's, glared out at them as the Heartless, sensing their weakness, began to close in.

"Can't believe this is the end. Fighting here. With you." Zidane snorted.

Kuja rolled his eyes.

"Stupid little brother. I don't intend to fall here. I have an eternal empire to build, after all. This is just a set back."

It was Zidane's turn to roll his eyes.

"Right, right. Whatever." Zidane shot him a look. "Together, then?"

Kuja laughed.

"Together."

As one, the pair blasted off, waves of crimson emanating from them as the Heartless roared and attacked.

* * *

"Think he's dead, yo?

"Stop poking him like that! We should get him to a hospital!"

"Awake."

"Huh? What do you mean he's awake, yo? He's out col- wow!"

Small golden eyes blinked up at them. Then, with a scream, Vivi jumped to his feet and backed away. Who were this people? What was this place? How did he get here? More importantly, who was he anyways?

"Hey, hey! Calm down, kid!"

Vivi looked up.

A blond wearing a white trenchcoat with the sleeves cut off was trying to placate him. A beanie held the blond locks back, giving the teen a faux tough guy look. Beside him stood a tan teenager in a red shirt that looked like he could give Amarant a run for his gil- and who was Amarant, again- and a small petite girl with purple hair and pixie cut.

"Who are you? What are you doing in our town, huh? We don't take well to troublemakers!" the blond, who very much looked like a troublemaker, snapped out.

"Huh? I'm not a troublemaker! I'm- I-"

Then, Seifer Almasy found himself with an armful of crying child as Vivi sobbed, over and over again, for a fallen world he could no longer remember.


End file.
